164 



** 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



GORDONIA. 



ft 



Monadelphia Polyandria. Linn. Malvaceae. Juss. Emollient, aperient 



Loblolly Bay. Gordonia lasyanthus. 



The Loblolly Bay is con- 

 fined to the maritime parts 

 of the United States, to the 

 Florid as, and to Lower 

 Louisiana. In the pine- 

 barrens, tracts 50 or 100 

 acres are met with at inter- 

 vals, which, being lower 

 than the adjacent ground, 

 are kept constantly moist by 

 the waters collected in them 

 after the great rains. These 

 spots are entirely .^covered 

 with the loblolly bay, and 

 are called Bay Swamps. 

 Although the layer of veg- 

 etable mould is only three 

 or four inches thick, and reposes upon a bed of barren sand, the 

 vegetation of these trees is surprisingly luxuriant. 



The loblolly bay grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a 

 diameter of 18 or 20 inches. For 25 to 30 feet its trunk is 

 perfectly straight. The small divergency of its branches near 

 the trunk gives it a regularly pyramidical form ; but as they 

 ascend they spread more loosely, like those of other trees of the 

 forest. The bark is very smooth while the tree is less than six 

 inches in diameter; on old trees it is thick and deeply furrowed. 

 The leaves are ever green, from three to six inches long, 

 alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly toothed, and smooth and 

 shining on the upper surface. The flowers are more than an 

 inch broad, white and sweet-scented ; they begin to appear about 

 the middle of July and bloom in succession during two or three 



Fig. 1. A leaf. 



PLATE XXXV. 



Fi<* -2. A seed vessel. 



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